Meet Julian ‘Dr Concrete’ Robinson
Steamfort is the brainchild of Julian Robinson, who launched the venture in 2018 as a way to bring his skills and passion to a wider audience.
Julian is an Environmental Engineer who started his career in the water industry developing new technologies (primarily electrochemical cells and advanced ion exchange technologies). Following this, he spent five years as a project manager in the oil and gas industries.
Julian has always had a passion for improving the environmental credentials of the construction and engineering industries, which inspired him to undertake a PhD investigating the benefits of more environmentally sustainable bio-based building materials.
After completing his doctorate in 2014, Julian worked as a technical specialist at Nottingham Trent University (NTU), where he utilised his technical expertise and academic background to deliver lectures, workshops and laboratories across multiple disciplines – including Architecture, Construction, Design and Engineering.
Julian has run and collaborated on a wide variety of workshops over the years, covering a range of topics: concrete and plaster casting, upcycling, architectural model making, textiles in construction, woodcraft, scribble-bots, and the evaluation of bio-based building materials. Working in concert with the NTU Makers Club, he has also run workshops for secondary school DT students.
Julian has run continued professional development (CPD) workshops for university leadership team events, newly qualified teachers at the York STEM learning centre, and at Design Technology days for secondary school teachers.
Today, he wants to make his passion and expertise available to everyone who wants to learn more about building materials, crafting, and making the world a greener, more sustainable place.